NRA warns senators Sotomayor vote will be rated

WASHINGTON 
The National Rifle Association is warning senators that it will consider their votes on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as part of its influential annual ratings of lawmakers.

The NRA says President Barack Obama's first high court nominee has a hostile view of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. It announced last week that it was opposing her nomination, although her confirmation in early August is virtually guaranteed.

Its promise Thursday to score the upcoming vote amounts to a threat to Republicans and conservative Democrats whose constituents are strong gun rights advocates. It comes one day after the gun lobby suffered a major loss in the Senate with defeat of a concealed weapon measure.